Mr. Krueger's Christmas

TV Movie
19801980
Not RatedNot Rated
26m

IMDb RATING

7.9/10

1.1K

YOUR RATING

Drama Family Fantasy

An elderly widower relies on his daydreams and faith to get through a lonely Christmas.An elderly widower relies on his daydreams and faith to get through a lonely Christmas.An elderly widower relies on his daydreams and faith to get through a lonely Christmas.

IMDb RATING

7.9/10

1.1K

YOUR RATING

- Kieth Merrill
Writers
- Alan Henderson(story)
- J. Scott Iverson(story)
- Michael McLean(story)
Stars

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Storyline

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Trivia
James Stewart approached the scene where Mr. Kreuger talks to the infant Jesus very seriously. Before filming this scene, he told the producer Michael McLean, "I've got only one of these in me. Everyone who doesn't need to be here, get them out. Tell them I want this to go well. I can do other takes, but this will be the right one. There will only be one." After the scene was finished, McLean asked the cameraman, "Did you get it?" "I hope so," was the reply, "because I was crying."

Goofs
(at around 16 mins) After Mr. Krueger fixes the pipes, he returns to his apartment and begins to pet his cat. As he talks about be "all by himself" on Christmas Eve, you can clearly see a crew member standing to the right of the screen with his arms folded.

Quotes
Narrator: "I love you." That's what Christmas is all about... Clarissa said it to Mr. Krueger; Mr. Krueger said it to Jesus; and Jesus in so many ways said it to all of us.

Connections
Referenced in The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: James Stewart/Hodding Carter (1980)

Soundtracks
Sleigh Ride
Written by Leroy Anderson (uncredited) and Mitchell Parish (uncredited)
Performed by The The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square under the direction of Jerold Ottley

User reviews20

Review

Featured review

9/10

Christmas For the Old and Lonely

Unlike so many stars James Stewart was careful and choosy with the material he did when he became a senior citizen. No slasher flicks, no self caricatures capitalizing on his image for Mr. Stewart. This film that Stewart did for the Church of Latter Day Saints is a perfect example of his good taste.

Jimmy Stewart is Willie Krueger, senior citizen and widower, who works as an apartment building janitor and lives alone except for his cat named George. With his wife dead and children scattered if any, Christmas is a lonely time for the elderly and particular this elderly. But he's a man content with the life he's led, it was a good if obscure one.

He still would like some human company though and in his imaginings he finds himself directing the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in their Christmas holiday show and then in the presence of the baby Jesus in a nativity scene. Viewers will find that a most moving scene as he thanks the Babe for his life and the faith that he had to sustain him.

Stewart's performance reminded me very much of Tyrone Power in The Long Gray Line. In that one Power aged almost fifty years and the scenes in that basement apartment reminded a lot of Power as an old man after the death of Maureen O'Hara. Of course Stewart did not need any aging makeup at this point in his career. I really believe that the folks at the LDS church who produced Mr. Krueger's Christmas were influenced by that John Ford classic.

Mr. Krueger's Christmas has become a minor holiday classic in the tradition of that most famous of Jimmy Stewart films, It's A Wonderful Life. It's a simple and profound story and a great tribute to that most beloved of American players.

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